Hairstyle Enhancing Accessory

ABSTRACT

A hair enhancing accessory is used during formation of a hairstyle such as a ponytail or a bun. The hair enhancing has a base rim which is placed next to or near the head and a body which adds volume to a chosen hairstyle, allowing hair to be positioned around the body. The body is separated into a lower body section and an upper body section. The lower body section and upper body section can combine to form a cylindrical lateral surface, a tapered lateral surface, or even two oppositely tapered surfaces that meet at a midsection. Potentially, a secondary lip can be incorporated adjacent to the upper body section. A hair retaining addition such as a hair band is used to secure hair around the body, and is prevented from sliding by the base rim, the secondary rim, the tapered body sections, or a combination thereof.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S.Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 14/628,049, entitled“Hairstyle Enhancing Accessory” and filed on Feb. 20, 2015, the entirecontents of which are incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to an accessory that isincorporated into hairstyles in order to provide an enhanced visualeffect. Effectively, the present invention helps to give the impressionof a larger hairstyle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Hairstyles are an area of importance to many people, who spend countlessdollars on products that help maintain, improve, or accessorize varioushairstyles. One aspect of improvement that is desirable is giving theappearance of a larger of fuller hairstyle. Common examples ofhairstyles that benefit from such a visual improvement are ponytails andbuns. The present invention serves to effectively enlarge a hairstyle byproviding a core body around which to build the hairstyle. The presentinvention additionally serves to extend hairstyles such as ponytails andbuns, allowing them to push farther back and out before dropping due tothe effects of gravity.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide anaccessory which allows hairstyles to be enhanced in a simple andergonomic manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present inventionwith a tapered lateral surface.

FIG. 2 is a side view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a side view of an embodiment of the present invention with acylindrical lateral surface.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the presentinvention with oppositely tapered body sections and a secondary rim.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an asymmetrical variant thereof.

FIG. 6 is a top view showing a secondary rim of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a hair band positioned around oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an illustration showing a ponytail hairstyle that is notutilizing the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an illustration showing a ponytail hairstyle that is beingenhanced by the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an illustration showing a ponytail hairstyle that is notutilizing the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an illustration showing a ponytail hairstyle that is beingenhanced by the present invention.

DETAIL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INVENTION

All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describingselected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limitthe scope of the present invention. The present invention is a hairstyleenhancing accessory that is used to effectively enlarge varioushairstyles, examples of which include ponytails and buns. The presentinvention comprises a base rim 1 which is connected to a body 2. Thebody 2 itself comprises a lower body section 21, and an upper bodysection 22. The lower body section 21 is adjacently connected to thebase rim 1, the latter of which is pressed against the back of a user'shead. On the other side of the lower body section 21, opposite the baserim 1, is the upper body section 22. The upper body section 22 isadjacently connected to the lower body section 21 such that the base rim1, lower body section 21, and upper body section 22 form a singular body2. More specifically, the lower body section 21 and upper body section22 are joined at their perimeter to create the impression of a unitaryand continuous body 2. This resulting unitary body 2 is used to fluff upthe appearance of certain hairstyles by providing the appearance of morevolume. For example, ponytails and buns that utilize the presentinvention appear “fuller”, “thicker”, or “more voluptuous” than thosemade without the present invention. Different embodiments are shown viaFIG. 1-FIG. 7, while FIG. 8-FIG. 11 illustrate the volume enhancingeffect of the present invention.

Different embodiments of the present invention are possible based ondifferent configurations of the basic components heretofore described.In one embodiment of the present invention, the lower body section 21and upper body section 22 are joined in a manner that results in thebody 2 being a continuous piece with linear walls. the lower bodysection 21 and the upper body section 22 are connected to each other ina way that forms a cylindrical lateral surface 23. Alternatively, thelateral surface can be tapered towards the base rim 1, with the body 2being widest as the upper body section 22 narrowest at the lower bodysection 21 adjacent to the base rim 1. The body 2 gradually narrows fromthe upper body section 22 to the lower body section 21 and from thelower body section 21 to the base rim 1, resulting in the formation of atapered lateral surface 24. The tapered variant can be considered moreadvantageous as it is better at preventing undesired movement of a hairband or similar item, as discussed later. This shows how the body 2,including component lower body section 21 and upper body section 22, canbe implemented in different manners yet still result in a continuouspiece with linear walls as described by the first embodiment. Examplesof the first embodiment are provided in FIG. 1-FIG. 3.

In a second embodiment, the lower body section 21 and upper body section22 are not joined in a linear fashion, resulting in a body 2 with angledor curved portions. In this second embodiment, the lower body section 21and the upper body section 22 thus taper towards each other, meeting ata narrow midsection of the body 2. The visual result is that of a twopyramids being joined at a point, having a resemblance to the profile ofan hour glass. Effectively, the lower body section 21 is one pyramid andthe upper body section 22 is a second pyramid. To help further definethis, a reference plane 4 can be visualized, with the reference plane 4bisecting the lower body section 21 and the upper body section 22. Theupper body section 22 is thus considered as being a mirror image of thelower body section 21, reflected across the reference plane 4. Somevariation to the created body 2 of the second embodiment is possible.For example, the upper body section 22 and lower body section 21 can bemade symmetrical or asymmetrical to each other, with symmetry beingevaluated across the reference plane 4. For the described secondembodiment, a secondary rim 3 is also possible. This secondary rim 3parallels the base rim 1, being adjacently connected to an edge of theupper body section 22. Provided that the upper body section 22 and thelower body section 21 are mirror images of each other, the secondary rim3 is also congruent with the base rim 1. That is, if overlapped theywould have the same size and shape. If the upper body section 22 is nota reflection of the lower body section 21, the secondary rim 3 can bebigger or smaller than the base rim 1, corresponding with the relativesize of the upper body section 22 to the lower body section 21. Just asthe base rim 1 is concentric with the lower body section 21, thesecondary rim 3 is correspondingly concentric with the upper bodysection 22. The second embodiment is shown in FIG. 4-FIG. 6. Ideally, ifutilized, the secondary rim 3 is configured to be coplanar with the baserim 1. The result is that the base rim 1 and secondary rim 3 are, in asense, reversible. By flipping the present invention about the referenceaxis 4, the secondary rim 3 could be thought of as the base rim 1 andthe upper body section 22 could be thought of the lower body section 21.Thus, either the base rim 1 or the secondary rim 3 could be placed nextto the user's head, with a gap separating the present invention and theuser's head. The hairstyle (e.g. ponytail) would thus be lying away fromthe user's head. This reversible nature makes the second embodiment ofthe present invention more user friendly. It is noted that thereversible property of the second embodiment does not apply to the firstembodiment, which ideally comprises the base rim 1 as opposed to thebase rim 1 and a secondary rim 3. Both embodiments of the presentinvention are intended to be used in conjunction with a hair-retainingaddition 5, e.g. a hair hand, scrunchie, or similar item. As the body 2is used to enhance the volume of a selected hairstyle, thehair-retaining addition 5 secures the hair around the body 2. Forexample, a pony tail is formed around the body 2, and then a hair bandor similar item is placed over the ponytail and around the body 2, thusholding the ponytail in position. The hair-retaining addition 5 isprevented from moving thanks to the tapered lower body section 21 andthe rim; the rim acts as a wall that prevents further movement of thehair-retaining addition 5 in one direction, while the tapered sectioninhibits movement of a hair band due by means of the increasing radius.

The hair-retaining addition 5 is thus prevented from shifting out of asmall section between the base rim 1 and the upper body section 22. Inthe variant of the first embodiment that has a straight-walledcylindrical body 2, the hair-retaining addition 5 is preventing fromsliding primarily by friction, as there is no tapered section torestrain movement. This hair-retaining addition 5 is shown around thebody 2 in FIG. 7.

In the second embodiment the hair-retaining addition 5 is prevented frommoving due to the tapered nature of both the lower body section 21 andthe upper body section 22. The base rim 1 and potential secondary rim 3further limit movement of the hair-retaining addition 5, ensuring thebody 2 is securely integrated with the hairstyle it is enhancing.

In both embodiments, different construction methods, dimensions,arrangements, and even minor adjustments to shape can be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. For example, in bothembodiments the body 2 can be built with a hollow interior in order toreduce the weight of the present invention. Additionally, the length ofthe body 2, including component lower body section 21 and upper bodysection 22, as well as the radius of the base rim 1 and second rim maybe varied. Likewise, in variations where the lower body section 21,upper body section 22, or both are tapered, they may instead be curvedrather than being linear.

For the second embodiment, which can be produced in a symmetrical orasymmetrical variant, there are preferences relating to dimensions. Withregards to the asymmetrical variant, the lower body section 21 ispreferably shorter than the upper body section 22. The symmetricalvariant is preferably shorter than the asymmetrical version as a lengthylower body section 21 is unwieldy and undesirable.

As earlier mentioned, both embodiments (along with their possiblevariants) are provided in order to help enhance a hairstyle inconjunction with a hair band or similar item. By forming the desiredhairstyle around the body 2, the perceived size of the hairstyle isincreased. FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 show the effects of the present inventionby comparing a normal ponytail (FIG. 8) to one formed with the presentinvention (FIG. 9). FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 are similar in that theycontrast a bun hairstyle formed without the present invention (FIG. 10)and with the present invention (FIG. 11). Though the present inventionitself, especially the body 2, can be constructed with varyingdimensions, it is preferably compact enough that it is hidden within acreated hairstyle. For example, if used to help create and enlarge aponytail, the base rim 1, body 2, and secondary rim 3 (in appropriateembodiments) would not be visible through the user's hair. The compactnature of the present invention also allows it to work more effectivelywith persons who have thin or fine hair, as such hair is less capable ofconcealing the present invention than that of persons with thicker hair.

Potential alterations to the shape and body 2 of the present inventioninclude widening or shortening different sections of the body 2, as wellas using different geometric shapes (e.g. a triangle or square insteadof an ovoid) when forming the base rim 1 and body 2. As an example, thelower body section 21 and the upper body section 22 could be compressedand elongated, effectively flattening the body 2 and shortening thepresent invention (as measured from the base rim 1 to the upper bodysection 2). This shape would allow a user to create a ponytail with a“waterfall effect”, where the ponytail has an increased width comparedto a traditional ponytail which is narrower and rounder.

Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferredembodiment, it is to be understood that many other possiblemodifications and variations can be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

I claim:
 1. A hairstyle enhancing accessory to be worn by a usercomprising: a body for shaping the user's hair, the body furthercomprising a flat upper surface, a lower surface, and an outer wall, theouter wall having a uniform and unbroken outer surface around theperimeter of the body that extends from the flat upper surface to thelower surface; and a base with a front flat surface rigidly affixed toand concentric with the lower surface of the body and a rear surfaceadapted for placement against the user's head, wherein the base issolid, wherein the front flat surface of the base extends beyond thelower surface of the body to form a lip that completely surrounds thelower surface of the body, and wherein the outer wall of the bodycontinuously tapers inwardly from the upper surface of the body to thelower surface of the body, such that the body is frustoconical.
 2. Thehairstyle enhancing accessory as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body issubstantially hollow.
 3. The hairstyle enhancing accessory as claimed inclaim 1 further comprising: a hair-retaining addition, thehair-retaining addition being positioned around the body for holding theuser's hair in a desired style around the body.
 4. The hairstyleenhancing accessory as claimed in claim 3, wherein the hair-retainingaddition is a hair band.
 5. A hairstyle enhancing accessory to be wornby a user comprising: a body for shaping the user's hair, the bodyfurther comprising a flat upper surface, a lower surface, and an outerwall, the outer wall having a uniform and unbroken outer surface aroundthe perimeter of the body that extends from the flat upper surface tothe lower surface; and a base with a front surface rigidly affixed toand concentric with the lower surface of the body and a rear surfaceadapted for placement against the user's head, wherein the base issolid, wherein the front surface of the base extends at a sharp anglerelative to the outer wall and extends beyond the lower surface of thebody to form a lip that completely surrounds the lower surface of thebody, and wherein the outer wall of the body around its perimetercontinuously tapers inwardly from the upper surface of the body to thelower surface of the body.
 6. The hairstyle enhancing accessory asclaimed in claim 5, wherein the body is substantially hollow.
 7. Thehairstyle enhancing accessory as claimed in claim 5 further comprising:a hair-retaining addition, the hair-retaining addition being positionedaround the body for holding the user's hair in a desired style aroundthe body.
 8. The hairstyle enhancing accessory as claimed in claim 7,wherein the hair-retaining addition is a hair band.
 9. The hairstyleenhancing accessory as claimed in claim 5, wherein the base and theupper surface of the body share a geometric shape.
 10. The hairstyleenhancing accessory as claimed in claim 9, wherein the geometric shapeis selected from the group consisting of square, circle, and triangle.